


Missed Signals

by bracus09



Series: ABC SEAL Team Whump [2]
Category: SEAL Team (TV)
Genre: Gen, Illnesses, dizzy - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:08:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22623820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bracus09/pseuds/bracus09
Summary: How something so small can cause so many problems?
Series: ABC SEAL Team Whump [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1611082
Comments: 33
Kudos: 153





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here is the beginning of my "B" story for the ABC Whump Series.
> 
> I'm not giving you what it is until the end, otherwise it will give it away.
> 
> Let's test your diagnosing ability!
> 
> Enjoy!

Keeping the covers pulled to his shoulder and his eyes closed, Jason turned over in his bunk, listening in the darkness to the sounds of the hooch. It was quieter than normal. No so much as a soft snore or a rustle of a sheet. Just the slow, steady, breathing of his teammates. Back late from a long, exhausting retrieval op, sleep had come as soon as their heads hit the pillows.

For most of the team anyway.

He could hear the gentle patter of the late May rain falling on the pavement outside the window… far different from the monsoon that had started in the afternoon the day before and continued through the evening. It had been raining steadily for the last six days… sometime light and misty, sometimes hard and driving. Six days of somber gray skies and unrelenting clouds. This past week of their deployment in Thailand had been miserable. Wet. Hot. Muddy. Mud everywhere. And, humid. The kind of humidity where you step out of the shower, attempt to dry off, and you just start sweating again.

The only good news was the weather forecasters were promising a break in the weather for the next two days. Two days to hopefully dry out. Two days to get over the edginess that always seemed to accompany long periods of dark and gloomy weather. But then, after the two days of rain-free freedom, the next monsoon worthy storm will be rolling in from the Gulf of Thailand, bringing down pours and 90-degree weather.

Used to the sunshine and hot dry weather from the Afghan desert, this deployment had left the team unprepared to cope with the horrible hot humid environment. Most of the time, the men just wanted to walk around in their boxers and flip flops, just trying to get rid of some of the heat. Add on to the monsoon season that started when they had arrived, it has made Bravo team a very wet and cranky team.

He heard the shower go on in the adjacent bathroom and looked over at the rest of his team. Spenser’s bunk was empty, except for the extra blanket Trent had tossed at him before crawling into his own bunk. Jason hadn’t been able to keep his eyes open long enough last night to see if his youngest had made it out of the shower and wondered now if Clay had gotten any sleep at all. This deployment hasn’t been a picnic, but the last mission had been rougher on Clay than the rest of them, and he was no doubt still finding mud in places.

It seemed the Air Force wanted to test the limits of a new compact drone in monsoon-like conditions. Of course, it didn’t do as well as predicted and it had to go down on the China side of the border. Bravo was quick to retrieve the drone, but it had landed on a cliff next to a river. When they retrieved it, Clay, who was responsible for carrying it back, slipped and ended up in the muddy river. When he slipped, he also banged his shoulder against the side of the sheer cliff. The damage was apparently minimal, other than some bruising and stiffness that had set in by the time they’d returned to the base. Even after a long, hot shower, some dry clothes and a warm meal, Clay was still aching and finding mud in places.

All in all, it hadn’t been a good deployment for Clay. He’d already had to miss two ops due to a slight concussion suffered when he was caught in the tail end of an explosion that sent him face first into a wall, and he’d been plagued by headaches for several days after that. 

And now this.

Jason yawned and peered at his watch to check the time. 0500. Still about an hour or two from the time the team needed to be up. He listened. The rain had stopped. Sleep overtook him again, and he didn’t even hear the shower go off or see Clay come back and curl up under the bed covers.

***

“Shut up, Sonny.” Clay said.

Clay was leaning back in a chair with his legs crossed at the ankles, resting them on top of the table in the briefing room; his eyes half closed, and his hands wrapped around a cup of coffee in his lap. Felt like for the past two days, any free time he had went towards napping, but he was still tired and in no mood for pointless conversation.

“Damn, Ken Doll. I didn’t even say anything.” Sonny replied, eyeing their youngest.

Sonny shot an innocent glance in Ray’s direction, then shrugged his shoulders and went to the coffee pot to pour some coffee for himself. He turned around and leaned back against the counter, taking a sip from the mug. “I was gonna be nice and tell you that Blackburn’s coming, and you might wanna get your feet off the table before he sees you… but… it’s a little late for that now.” Sonny hid his grin by raising the coffee cup to his lips again.

Clay could feel the Lt. Commander’s presence behind him, and without a word, slowly removed one leg at a time from the table, then stretched them out in front of him again, under the table. Announcing it was time to brief on the next op, Blackburn gave Clay a friendly slap on the back, causing him to lurch forward and almost spill his coffee on his pant legs.

“Woah, sorry Spenser. Is your shoulder still bothering you?” Blackburn asked, concerned by the reaction.

Clay blinked his eyes and flexed his shoulder, surprised that it had hurt that much. Jason and Trent had just walked in, and Trent was looking at him, waiting for his answer.

“No, it’s not the shoulder,” Clay’s voice was scratchy and nasally sounding. “That’s doin’ fine. Almost feels like I caught a cold. My muscles are just feeling a little achy is all.”

Sonny walked past them on the way to his spot on the table. “Well, Poster Boy, I’m sorry you’re not feelin’ well, but do us all a favor and keep your germs to yourself, okay? I don’t feel like getting sick in this humidity and heat.” Sonny dodged Jason’s frown and slumped down in his chair. Brock started messing with the file in front of him, looking down to hide his amused smile on his face.

“And there is that big Texan heart that you always try to hide,” Clay mumbled under his breath as he stood up. Jason and Trent already had their backs to him and didn’t see him close his eyes and grab onto the edge of the table for a moment. The dizziness passed as quickly as it had come, and Clay joined the others as he moved to “his” seat for the brief.

As the brief wrapped up, Jason turned to Trent and Clay, “With the rain starting up again, I want both of you to make sure our gear is ready to go.” Jason’s voice sounded vaguely distant to Clay. “Trent, make sure you have enough supplies and they are as waterproofed as possible. Clay, look at our gear and see if anything else needs to be waterproofed.” With that, he dismissed the team and they went their separate ways to prepare for the op.

While Trent was opening his kit, and looking to see what needed to be waterproofed, Clay pulled the first ruck towards him and set them on the floor beside Trent’s. He crouched down and unzipped the first ruck and began taking inventory.

“Clay?” Trent said, trying to get his attention.

He looked up and saw Trent crouched down too, staring at him. He hadn’t even heard Trent finish packing up his kit and reaching for the other ruck.

“What?” asked Clay.

“You sure you’re feeling alright? You looked about a million miles away just now.” Trent though Clay looked pale and more than a little tired.

“Yeah, it’s just this dumb cold. How in the hell did I get a cold in 80+ degree weather? I have slept for the past two days every chance I had and had complete meals. On the plus side, I think I finally got the last of the mud out of my hair.” Clay replied, then smirked. “My grandmother used to make this hot toddy that she said was an old family recipe guaranteed to warm you from the inside out and get rid of anything that ails you. Don’t know if it actually worked but I usually went from shivering to sweating in a matter of minutes.”

Trent laughed and asked if she ever shared the recipe, but their smiles faded when they heard a wind gust rattle the door and heard the rain come down harder.

Sighing heavily at the thought that he’d slept through two rain-free, no op days, Clay zipped up the first ruck and turned to the next, quickly finishing up his waterproofing. “Looks like we need a few more Ziplocs.” He rubbed his forehead, hoping it wasn’t another headache coming on.

“Yeah, I need to head over to the infirmary to grab a few supplies.” Trent said while Clay zipped up the final ruck. Trent finished zipping and buckling the straps of his kit and stood up to stow it back on the shelving unit they were storing their stuff. He then turned to take one of the rucks to help put it back, but Clay was standing, holding the ruck in his right hand, his left hand braced against the table they had set up, with an odd look in his eyes.

Trent thought Clay was going to pass out and grabbed him by his right arm to steady him. The ruck slipped from his grasp and dropped to the floor. The dizzy spell was more intense this time but vanished quickly again.

“I’m okay, Trent. You can let go of me now.” Clay shrugged his arm loose. “I… I just stood up too fast.”

Trent eyed him suspiciously. “Uh-huh. You know, if you’re sick, you shouldn’t be going on this op. Being out in the rain and humidity is only going to make you feel worse.”

Clay shook his head in disagreement. “I told you… I feel better today than I had the past two days. Besides, we can’t be down a guy on the op. Hopefully we will have a few easy days after the op, and I’ll get over it then. It’s just a cold, Trent.”

“Alright, if you say so.” He wasn’t going to get into a drawn-out discussion over it. “Why don’t you come with me to the infirmary with me to pick up supplies.” Trent poked his head into the briefing room to let Blackburn and Jason know that he was taking Clay with him to stock up on supplies, and then both headed out to the motor pool to grab a vehicle to drive over.

Trent glanced over at Clay as he turned the key in the ignition. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but he still thought something was wrong.

***

“Hi Carol,” Trent greeted as he helped himself to the supplies he needed and filling out the signature forms when she walked up.

“Gentlemen.” Carol Fisher, head nurse of base, replied, recognizing the concussed SEAL they had in earlier in the month and the medic.

“Seems kind quiet in here,” Clay observed, looking down the virtually deserted hallway.

“Bite your tongue, young man!” Carol put her hand on her hips and silenced him with one of those looks only mothers could give their children. “You better not have jinxed us by saying something like that.”

“Sorry,” Clay mumbled apologetically.

Carol brandished her pen in front of his face and muttered right back, “Yeah, well, if it gets busy, it’s gonna be all your fault you know.”

Laughing to herself at the hangdog look on his face, Carol decided to let the young SEAL off the hook for now. He didn’t look like he was feeling all that great. “Well, since you already brought it up, we are hoping that since it’s a Saturday, everyone will play nice. Unfortunately, there is a nasty flu bug that is going around, and it is kicking some people’s asses. To the point we’re going to run out of beds if more people come in.” She flashed another warning look Clay’s way, but discreetly winked at Trent.

Trent signed the form and handed it to her. “We are hopeful to have a quiet day to. It wouldn’t break my heart if we had to lounge around base all day. But something tells me that’s not gonna happen, though.”

Clay then sneezed twice. Carol handed him a tissue from a nearby desk. “Caught a little cold, did you?” She had been on duty the other night when they’d brought Clay in to get his shoulder checked out. She isn’t surprised that he gotten sick from his unexpected swim. He’d looked like a drowned curly rat.

“Trent, why don’t you take your friend here into Treatment room 2? Dr. Stevens’ in there and maybe he can peek down his throat and make sure it doesn’t look as bad as it sounds.” Carol had such a unique way of making an order sound like nothing more than a pleasant suggestion.

Clay opened his mouth to protest but knew he wouldn’t win. Not with Trent backing her. He wasn’t sure he wanted to win today anyway. Not only did his throat bother him, but his ears did too. He thought maybe a mild decongestant to unplug his sinuses wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Dr. Stevens glanced up when they entered the room. He looked tired. Several ` staff had been out sick with the flu or the cold going around, and he pulled an extremely busy double shift, napping only for a few minutes on the couch in the doctor’s lounge between handling emergencies and seeing flu patients. Finishing with the chart he was working on, he invited Clay to take his shirt off and hop up on the exam table. 

Pushing his glasses up his nose, Dr. Stevens took a tongue depressor from the container and looked down Clay’s throat. “Um-hmm.”

Clay stopped himself from rolling his eyes. He hated it when doctors did that.

Trent leaned a shoulder against the wall, arms folded, with a smile on his face.

Clay hated it when Trent did that too.

“Throat looks a little red.” Dr. Stevens motioned to the table behind him. “Trent, grab a thermometer and get a temperature while I check his ears.”

“I know I’m not running a fever.” Clay did protest this time. “Don’t you think I’d know if I had a fever? All I have is a dumb…”

Trent ran the temporal thermometer over Clay’s head at the same time he pushed up on the bottom of his chin. Clay glared at him, but kept his mouth closed.

“Um-hmm.” Dr. Stevens checked the right ear, then the left ear, then the right ear again.

“Looks like you’ve got a mild infection going in your throat and both ears. The right one looks a little more inflamed than the left.” Dr. Stevens looked at the thermometer for the reading, then pulled out another depressor and looked down Clay’s throat one more time.

“His temperature seems to be normal,” Trent announced for both the doctor and Clay, blowing off the smirking ‘see, I told you’ look Clay gave him. “About the only thing that is…” Trent smiled, pleased with his little comeback.

Dr. Stevens stood back and rested his chin in his hand while he thought about his diagnosis. “Any other symptoms? Nausea, headache, dizziness?”

Before Clay could get the word ‘no’ out of his mouth, Trent mentioned that it appeared to him that Clay had almost passed out earlier this morning.

Clay’s look told Trent he was more than a little peeved that he’d brought that up. “I told Trent… I just stood up too fast. It was no big deal. Just lasted a second or two.”

The doctor nodded in agreement. “Given that you have a mild inner ear infection, that wouldn’t be unusual. However, if you start experiencing any of those symptoms or you start running a fever, you should probably call off any field work. Otherwise I don’t see any reason why you can’t continue to be in the field.”

Clay wheezed a congested sigh of relief.

Dr. Stevens opened on of the cabinet doors, and after picking up and putting down a few different things handed clay two small bottles. “I don’t think you’ve got this viral infection that’s going around, or you’d be running a fever. You probably just picked this up from your little swim in the river the other night. I’m giving you a decongestant… it won’t make you drowsy, so it’ll be safe to take it right away. And… I don’t remember… are you allergic to penicillin?”

Clay shook his head.

“Okay, then… I’m just going to give it to you in tablet form today. Between the two medications, you should be feeling fine in no time.” Dr. Stevens took off his glasses and tiredly squeezed the bridge of his nose. “If that’s all gentlemen, I think I’m going to go to my bunk and sleep for the next 24 hours.”

“Thanks, Dr. Stevens.” Clay slid down off the table and pulled his shirt back on again, mentally sympathizing with the doctor. The medical staff were probably the only people on base that got less sleep than them.

“Yeah, thanks.” Trent echoed as they left the room.

Trent handed Clay the box of supplies they’d left at the nurse’s station and pulled out his phone to send a quick text to both Jason and Blackburn, letting them know that Clay was good to operate. They turned the corner and stopped for a moment before going through the double doors.

“Man, I hate the rain.” Clay muttered under his breath, then made a dash for the passenger-side door of the truck.

Maybe because it was Saturday and everyone was playing nice like Carol hoped, Bravo team had an easy op. Everyone of Bravo team was glad that things were quiet and there weren’t back-to-back ops. They all played cards, watched some movies, enjoyed the uninterrupted fried chicken dinner Lisa managed to get for them.

Clay was still feeling a little run down by the end of the weekend, but his ears and sinuses had unclogged a bit, thanks to the decongestant, and his throat didn’t bother him as much. His headache was more like a minor annoyance, and there had been no more dizzy spells.

He’d never admit it to Trent, but Clay was glad he had forced him to come with and let Dr. Stevens examine him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And the mystery deepens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still not giving you what it is.

It was Thursday morning and the sun was shining brightly. It had stopped raining Tuesday, but today was the first day the clouds had completely disappeared, and blue skies prevailed. The air was still hot and humid, but as long as they stayed dry, no one was planning to complain. Sunny weather brought sunny dispositions, and everyone on Bravo was in a good mood as they gathered in the briefing room for coffee and donuts before they got briefed on the newest op.

“Clay, how ya feelin’?” Jason asked, after swallowing the last bite of his coffee-soaked glazed twist.

“I’m doing fine, Boss. These last few lazy days helped me get over the cold, I feel great now.” Clay’s fingers rummaged around in the donut box, looking for a jelly-filled one. He looked up in time to see Sonny smile and take a bite out of the last one. Clay thought maybe Davis should bring in multiples of each type of donut, that way he’d be sure to get enough of the kinds he liked best.

An hour into the brief, they were dismissed to get ready for the op. This was going to be a difficult one, as a known arms shuttler crossed the border from Cambodia into Thailand. The HVT has been on the CIA’s hit list for almost 10 years, and they were hoping to get this guy.

They rolled up on three-story old, rundown hotel. Intel said that he was only traveling with 6 bodyguards, so they would have to be quick if they wanted to snag the HVT. They entered the building and quickly started to clear each room. The building looked more like a homeless shelter than a place an arms shuttler would stay. The bottom floor was quickly cleared, and they went up the stairs to the second floor. They quickly encountered two of the bodyguards and continued to clear the second floor. Reaching the stairwell, they climbed the final flight of stairs. As they started clearing the rooms, they finally caught on that they were being hunted by a team of SEALs and started fighting back. 

Unfortunately, the old hotel didn’t have power, so they had been cooking on a portable propane cooking stove in one of the upstairs rooms. A stray bullet from someone’s gun hit the tank and it exploded, causing the whole floor to quickly go up in flames like a tinderbox. By the time they finally had everyone rounded up and had the HVT in handcuffs, it was smoky, and it was getting a little too hot for their comfort. 

The narrow stairwell was clear of flames and debris, but densely packed with smoke. Everyone was carefully making their way down the stairs, when suddenly the HVT and one of his goons ripped himself out of Sonny and Trent’s grips and raced back up the stairs and back into the fire. 

“Fuck! Bravo 3 and 6. Go find those assholes.” Jason growled as the rest of the team headed down to the street with the rest of the idiots. “Be careful. If it gets too dangerous, leave them to fry.”

Sonny and Clay carefully made their way back up the stairs. When they reached the top, they began searching the rooms. Sonny found the HVT in the second room. The man was unconscious but breathing. Sonny quickly sat him up which caused the man to come around a little.

Another explosion from the floor below shook the building, shattering more windows, and causing more pieces of the ceiling to fall. Apparently, there were more than one propane tank in the building for cooking or heating. Sonny heard Jason shouting over comms and he didn’t need to the encouragement to get moving. He gathered the handcuff, semiconscious HVT over his shoulder and exited the room.

Waiting briefly for the debris to stop falling, Sonny looked down the hall to see where Clay was. He hurried down the stairs, making sure he didn’t trip over any fallen debris.

Clay was further down the hall when the shock from the explosion rocked the building. He had been knocked off his feet and he laid on his side, momentarily stunned. He could hear Jason over the radio telling them to move their collective asses or they were going to roast. He found the goon that was further down the hallway, but the man was huge and Clay didn’t think he could hoist him over his shoulder without some help. He opted to slide his arms around the unconscious man’s chest from behind and pull him down the hallway, then get help carrying him out of the building.

As he came to the stairwell, the heat wasn’t as oppressive, and the smoke wasn’t quite as thick as it had been when he first entered. The exertion of dragging the considerable dead weight of the unconscious goon from the hallway to the stairway had him sucking in smoky air in short, rapid breaths. Once he got to the top of the stairwell, Clay pulled the man to the first stair and laid him on the floor, then shouted and waited for help.

Trent and Ray saw Clay struggle with the goon, and he was coughing up a lung from breathing in the smoke. Ray tapped Clay on shoulder and signaled him to take off down the stairs, letting him know that Ray would carry the goon out of the building for him. Clay stood up quickly to go, instantly feeling lightheaded and a little woozy. He sagged a shoulder heavily against the wall for a second, then pushed back his helmet to wipe the sweat off his forehead, trying to catch his breath, swallowing smoke with every gulp of air. Waving to Ray and Trent that he was okay, he waited another few seconds before following them toward the exit.

Trying to breathe in just enough air to keep going, Clay looked down the stairwell and stopped. He wasn’t looking at an escalator, but the stairs were moving. The smoke still hung heavily in the confined space, and it was stinging his eyes and burning his throat. He knew there was no way he was going to make it down the stairs on his own without falling. Gagging and coughing harshly, he shrugged off his ruck and let it fall to the floor, then leaned his back against the wall and closed his eyes, but that only made the dizziness worse. He heard his team coming up the stairs, and thought one of them said something to him, but before he could answer, he felt himself sliding down the wall.

***

“Clay?”

He stirred slightly and opened his eyes. Just as Trent’s face slowly began to come into focus, Clay started coughing again. It was harsh, dry and very patient. Rolling onto his side, he continued coughing and struggled to sit up. Several pairs of hands helped him into a sitting position, then held onto his arm and rested on his back to support him until the coughing fit subsided. Those same hands carefully leaned him back against the side of their Scooby van.

Still a little disoriented, Clay realized that somewhere along the line, they must have taken off his tactical vest. He didn’t remember that. He shivered when Trent pushed up his shirt sleeve and slipped the BP cuff around his arm. Trent asked someone to get Clay a blanket from his kit while he pumped up the cuff and took the BP reading.

“How ya doin’ there, Spenser?” Jason asked as he knelt on one knee next to him; his strong, steady hand gently clasping Clay’s shoulder.

“M’okay, Boss,” he answered in a hoarse, drowsy whisper.

Jason looked at Trent, whose nod confirmed that he thought Clay would be okay. Trent pulled out his notebook to write down Clay’s vitals.

“When we get back to base, you are going to the infirmary.” Jason said as he stood up to maneuver to the front of the van. “Trent, make sure you get him there and let me know how he’s doing.”

“But Jason,” Clay surmised his passing out meant he wasn’t going to be on any more ops or drills today, but he didn’t want to stay in the infirmary. He just wanted a shower, his bunk and sleep.

“Copy, Havoc,” Trent said. “We’ll be escorting Bravo 6 to the infirmary when we reach the base. Our ETA should be about ten to fifteen minutes.”

More alert now, Clay sat forward and started to object. “Trent… I don’t need to…” He shut up and leaned back. He knew he did need to. He felt like shit. His head was throbbing, his eyes were watering, his chest burned, and his throat felt raw.

Trent was glad he wasn’t going to get an argument. He put the BP cuff and stethoscope away, while taking in Bravo 6’s pale, haggard appearance, obvious even under the layer of soot that covered his face from the fire and smoke. “You can relax,” he said reassuringly, “Don’t even need an IV, but I do want to get you checked out. Can you tell me what happened in there, Clay? You were right behind us.”

“Started coughing and it got hard to breathe.” Clay frowned, thinking about how he’d felt before he passed out. “I… I guess the smoke got to me before I could get down the stairs.”

“Spill.” Trent stated, seeing the uncertain look on Clay’s face.

“I… uh… felt kinda… weird before that though,” clay readily admitted. “Sorta dizzy… the explosion knocked me down, then… I don’t know. Could have been that… or it might have been that I was sucking in smokey air…” Another round of ragged coughing cut him off before he could finish his explanation.

Trent made sure to keep Clay in an upright position for the rest of the ride back to base to ease his breathing.” “I need to go talk to Jason for a minute and then be back. You doin’ okay?”

Clay nodded and Trent went to talk to Jason and would be back soon.

***

Carol was waiting in the hallway, holding the door to Treatment Room 4 open when Trent was manhandling Clay down the hall. Clay was already starting to feel better and grumbled when Trent wouldn’t let him move onto the exam table by himself. One look from Carol squelched any further complaints. Once on the exam table, Trent exited to give Clay’s vital he took in the field, while Carol helped him remove his shirt and shoes but allowed him to keep the rest of his clothes, for which he was grateful. The exam rooms were kept too damn cold.

Dr. Stevens came in a minute later, studying the sheet on the clipboard with the information from Trent’s vitals in the field. His demeanor was brisk and all business.

“Spenser.” He greeted him without looking up from the chart. “Looks like you were out for about three minutes. Did you hit your head at all?”

“No… I… I’m pretty sure someone caught me before I went down.” Clay was positive he hadn’t hit his head when the explosion took his feet out from under him either. “I think it was just the smoke and the heat… I was in the building when it was on fire for maybe fifteen minutes. I did feel kinda dizzy in the hallway, and then again before I passed out, though.”

Dr. Stevens’ eyes searched the paper again, looking for some note he’d read. “Says you took in a lot of smoke.”

Clay didn’t especially like the condescending way he asked the question. “I didn’t really have a choice. I should have had time to get out before the smoke got to me.”

“Um… hmm.” There it was again. “Looks to me like you were wrong.”

Clay bristled at the comment. “Well, I guess I figured it was better to breathe in some smoke rather than let someone be burned alive.”

Carol didn’t miss the sarcasm in his raspy voice, although the preoccupied doctor did, and gave Clay a little poke and shook her head. She read off a new set of vitals while Dr. Stevens listened to Clay’s lungs.

“Okay, Carol,” Dr. Stevens jotted a few more notes while talking, “Order a full series of chest x-rays and get the pulse oximeter on him. I want to know what his arterial blood gases are. Let me know when the x-rays come back.”

Clay groaned. He was hoping to get out of there without too much fuss. Dr. Stevens’ impersonal bedside manner wasn’t making him feel any better. The doctor abruptly left the room without saying anything else, and almost bumped into Trent in the hallway.

“Hey, Doc. How’s he doing’?” Trent asked.

“Hmmm? Oh, I think he’ll be okay. His lungs don’t sound too bad, considering. You can go on in.” Dr. Stevens’ glanced over his shoulder down the hall to where a young Thai couple stood, then said rather curtly, “You’ve got to excuse me, Trent, I’ve got some serious cases to attend to.”

Trent was a little surprised at the brusque attitude. Smoke inhalation was pretty serious as far as he knew. Especially when unconsciousness was involved. Trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, Trent though maybe Dr. Steven meant some “other” serious cases to attend to. He was still shaking his head when he entered the room.

“Hey, Carol… Clay, you feelin’ better?” He asked.

“I was… ‘til Doctor Sunshine came in.” Clay’s eyes were following Carol around the room.

“Yeah… I ran into him in the hallway.” Trent was puzzled. He only had a few interactions with Dr. Stevens’, and he hadn’t been overly impressed with his interpersonal skills, but the doctor had never demonstrated anything less than professionalism and genuine concern when it came to a patient’s health. “What’s with him today, Carol?”

She sighed softly. “You boys need to cut him some slack right now. He lost a patient a little while ago… An eight-year old girl was hit by a military truck when she ran out into the road to grab a soccer ball. Since she was hit right outside the base and by one of our trucks, they brought her in for treatment. Dr. Stevens’ had to tell the parents… he’s taking it hard… he seems to think there was something more he could have done.”

“That’s rough,” Trent said quietly. “But still…”

“I know, Trent. Just give him some time.” Carol looked at Clay, who was attempting to hold back from coughing but wasn’t being too successful. “Trent, they should be in to take some x-rays in a minute. What do you say to buying me a cup of coffee in the cafeteria while we wait?”

“I’d say you’ve got yourself a date,” Trent responded with a smile.

“Clay, I’ll ask one of the nurses to come in when they’re done with the x-rays and help you get cleaned up and make sure you’re resting comfortably while we wait for the results, okay?” Before he could ask, she added, “I’ll have them bring you some water and a blanket too. You look cold.”

After she left the room, Trent chatted with Clay for a few minutes until the door opened and the portable x-ray machine was wheeled in.

“I guess that’s my cue to leave… but I’ll be back in a while to check on you.” Trent started to leave the room.

“You’re not going back to the hooch?” Clay asked.

“Jason wanted me to hang here to see if they are keeping you overnight or sending you back to the hooch. If they release you, I’m your ride back… We still need to see what the decision is.” Trent explained.

“Hey, Trent… thanks.” Clay said tiredly.

“Don’t mention it. You just take it easy, and I’ll check back with you later.” Trent replied.

Clay thought his eyes had only been closed for a few minutes when he felt someone gently shaking his shoulder. It took him a few seconds before he recognized Dr. Lawrence Graham, who diagnosed his concussion, hovering over him. 

“Hey, Doc. Guess I fell asleep.” His mouth felt sticky and dry as cotton, and his chest ached, but the nap seemed to have helped improve his overall condition.

“Hey, yourself.” Dr. Graham smiled. “This isn’t a hotel, you know. It’s the infirmary… in case you haven’t noticed. Why don’t you get dressed and get outta here and make room for someone who really needs our help?”

Clay sat up, not about to give him a chance to change his mind. “Just hand me my shirt and shoes, and I’m gone… no offense intended.”

“None taken, Sailor.” Dr. Graham’s humor faded and he folded his arms and looked at Clay thoughtfully. “Seriously though, Petty Officer Spenser, your oxygen levels are a little low, but within normal ranges, and steadily improving. Your chest x-rays were also negative. I think you were pretty lucky you got out of there when you did. I want to listen to your lungs again before you leave. Dr. Stevens said they sounded a little congested earlier, but no too bad. Your medic knows the signs, so be honest with him. Smoke inhalation is nothing to mess around with. If he wants to listen to your lungs, he gets to listen to them. If he wants to see your oxygen saturation, he gets to pulse oximeter your finger. You start feeling worse, let him know and I want you back in here immediately. Is that understood?”

“You got my word on it, sir.” Clay promised. “I’ve had enough problems lately.”

Dr. Graham was satisfied with his exam, and agreed to let Clay go back to the hooch, but would not be able to complete any ops or drills.

“I don’t want you on ops or drills. Only light duty for the next two days. I also you want you to drop by late tomorrow afternoon, and we’ll take another look and clear you for duty if everything’s okay. You need to take it easy and get some rest in the meantime.” Dr. Graham stated as he handed Clay his shirt and Clay hopped off the table to slip it on.

“That I can do. Thanks, Doc. By the way, do you know if Trent’s still here?”

Dr. Graham nodded in affirmation. “We put him in the doctors’ lounge, and he’s waiting to give you a lift back to your hooch. Said you need to get going, though… something about Sonny eating everything and leaving nothing for him. I’ll let him know you’re about ready to get out of here.”

Clay finished pulling his shirt over his head, then bent over to pick up his shoes. The room started to spin, and he stood up and leaned back against the exam table until it passed. It took longer to go away this time. He wondered if maybe the ear infection hadn’t cleared up completely yet, and decided if he had any more problems with dizziness in the next two days, he’d have them look at his ears again when he came back to get cleared for duty.

His stomach growled, and he wondered if he and Trent would have anything to eat when they got back.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did they solve the mystery?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still not telling!

Clay was beginning to think all he ever did on his light duty days anymore was sleep. He’d missed out once again on the few extra days of sunshine that had graced the base between storms. Unfortunately, temperatures were increasing, along with the humidity, clouds were rolling in, and another monsoon was expected to arrive in the next few days.

Dr. Stevens had cleared him for full duty, and Clay was glad to be out of the hooch and back running drills and ops. His voice was still a bit hoarse, but the coughing had subsided and there hadn’t been any dizzy spells since that one in the treatment room. He’d finished up the last of the antibiotics and hoped that would put an end to it once and for all.

Bravo team spent most of the day conducting routine drills, but the team was basically idle most of the day, waiting for the next op. By evening, boredom had set in, and one by one, they eventually drifted to the hooch and turned in for the night.

Clay woke shortly before the time they needed to get up. He groaned in dismay when he turned over. He didn’t feel very good. Closing his eyes again, he lay on his back in his bunk and listened to the sound of the rain on the roof.

The typical monsoon season in Thailand spanned from July to October, but this year, Mother Nature seemed determined to start it as early as she could. The weather reports were full of storm warnings – heavy rainfall causing low visibility, flash flood warnings were in effect almost everywhere, and there were warnings for ships in the harbor. Sandbags were stacked all over base, and cities were preparing for mudslides.

Turbulent weather conditions, all meant that any op that they went on was going to be challenging regardless of what the mission is. Blackburn came bursting into the hooch just before the men were to get up. “Everyone up! We have an op!”

Covers flew off and the men scrambled for pants and shoes. Ray, Brock and Sonny were the first ones out of the hooch door and heading towards their briefing room, still pulling shirts over their heads and shoes untied. Jason was just reaching for his shirt when he heard Trent shout for his help.

Looking over at Trent, he was shocked to find Clay laying on the floor between his and Trent’s bunks, with Trent kneeling by his side in the gap between them. Clay was on his back, white as a ghost, with both hands on his forehead, covering his eyes and moaning softly.

“What the hell happened, Trent?” Jason asked, taking in the scene.

“I don’t know… Clay bent over to grab his shoes and the next thing I knew, he went down… hard. Boss, I don’t think he can go on this op.” Trent replied, looking at Jason.

Jason needed a quick decision. “Do I need to call the infirmary or can you handle it by yourself and then we can catch you up after you drop him off?”

“I’m not sure what’s wrong, but since he’s conscious, I should be fine.” Trent reasoned.

Sonny came back in to see what the holdup was, and saw Clay lying on the floor. “What the fuck? What happened to Poster Boy? You need any help, Trent?”

“No… I don’t think so, Sonny. I tried to ask if he could sit up, but he told me to leave him alone, so I’m just gonna do what he wants ‘til I figure out what’s wrong.” Trent replied.

“Trent, we gotta go,” Jason hollered as he and Sonny both headed for the door. “Get him to the infirmary and then get to the briefing.”

The sounds of their footsteps and slamming of the door made Clay moan a little louder. 

Trent grasped Clay’s wrists to pull them away from his head so he could try to find out what was wrong, but he met resistance and quickly let go. Trent noted his skin was cold and clammy to the touch. “Clay, I need to know what’s wrong. Help me out here. What can I do?”

Clay was swallowing reflexively, trying to fight off the rapidly growing nausea. “Si…sick… I… I’m gonna be sick…”

Trent started to roll him on his side but Clay weakly pushed him away with one hand. “D…don’t… don’t move me…”

“Clay, you gotta tell me what’s wrong. Why can’t I move you? Did you hurt your back or your head when you fell?” Trent questioned.

“N-no… no… diz-dizzy. Trent… ‘m gonna be sick.” Clay got out.

Knowing what the problem was helped him decide what to do. Ignoring Clay’s feeble protests, Trent rolled him into a left side-lying position to keep him from aspirating if he vomited. Grabbing a blanket off the bed, he covered him, then sat back on his heels, waiting to see if it helped. Clay lay tense and motionless while Trent watched him closely.

Finally seeing Clay’s facial features relax a bit, Trent quietly started asking questions. “Clay, can you talk to me?”

“Yeah…” came the even more quiet answer.

“You still feel like you’re gonna be sick?”

“N-no… Kinda… Queasy… but not sick.”

“You think you can get up on your bunk if I help you, so I can check you out?”

“Maybe… another minute… give me a minute…”

“Alright, you just take it easy. Let me know when you’re ready to get up.” Trent realized his own voice was a little shaky… Clay had scared the hell out of him. “This came on pretty suddenly, didn’t it? You seemed fine yesterday.”

“I… I was fine.” Clay finally cracked his eyes open. The sensation that the room was rotating was still there, but it was nothing like what he had experienced a few minutes ago. He started to get up and let Trent help him back onto his bunk. He felt better sitting up and put his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands. Trent sat next to him, ready to catch him if he looked like he was going to keel over again.

“What happened, Trent?” he asked, slowly sitting up straight.

“You were the one that dropped like a rock… I was kinda hoping you could tell me.”

“Kinda felt like… I don’t know… like what clothes must feel like… going through the spin cycle in a washing machine.” A half dozen more analogies that would have fit the bill flashed through his mind, but just thinking about them made him feel worse.

The intensity of the dizzy spell and the accompanying nausea had faded some but hadn’t disappeared entirely. Clay’s hands gripped the edge of the mattress as his stomach rolled again. He was feeling like he’d just spent hours on a small boat in rough waters… and thinking no one but him could feel so seasick without ever leaving dry land. 

Clay was shivering slightly; he’d gone from pale and cold and clammy to looking flushed and diaphoretic. Trent pulled the blanket around his shoulders and felt Clay’s forehead. Like anybody that has been around kids, or in his case stubborn SEALs, Trent could guess just about how high a fever is without needing a thermometer.

“I think we need to get you to the infirmary.” Trent stood up and put his hand on Clay’s shoulder. “Sit here a minute… I’m going to pull the truck around so it’s easier to get you in it.”

Not sure if he wanted to sit up or lay down, Clay just nodded, wishing someone would stop the boat from rocking.

***

Trent left Clay in the capable hands of Dr. Stevens once again and drove the truck back to their hooch and attended the briefing. It was going to be a quick op, so he focused in on the information. They left, completed the op, and came back all within 12 hours. 

Not knowing if they were going to keep Clay in the infirmary or let him come back to the hooch, Trent had Sonny gather some clothes, because Trent had basically dropped him off in boxers and a t-shirt. Either way, Trent didn’t think Clay would be allowed to participate in any ops or drills for at least two days.

Carol was just coming out of a treatment room when Trent, Jason and Sonny arrived, greeting him with a slightly sardonic smile. “Morning, Trent. You know, as much as Clay claims he hates being a patient, he sure does seem to be spending a lot of time here lately. We’re going to have to name one of these treatment rooms ‘The Clay Spenser Room’ in his honor.”

Trent relaxed a little. She wouldn’t be joking if there was anything seriously wrong. On the other hand, he was sure Clay wasn’t finding any humor in this at all.

“Is it alright if we go in?” he asked, his hand already on the door.

“I think Dr. Stevens’ just about done. I’m sure it’s fine… he might want to talk to you about what happened this morning anyway.” Carol put her hand on Trent’s arm.

“It’s okay Carol. I’m sure even Clay will look back on this past month and laugh. It just might take a few years before he does…” Trent smiled and went into the room to talk to the doctor while Sonny and Jason followed.

Clay blinked his eyes sleepily when he saw three of his brothers. He didn’t look much better than when he was brought in 12 hours ago. Dr. Stevens was fishing around in the medicine cabinet for something but turned to say good afternoon before he found what he was looking for.

“Well, guys, I think your youngest has managed to catch this flu that’s been going around. It’s not surprising, given that he’s probably a bit run down from that cold and the ear infection, not to mention the smoke inhalation from the other day. Maybe he should’ve been stood down a few days longer to make sure he was over everything before being cleared for full duty…” Dr. Stevens paused for a moment. “I guess I’m at fault for letting him, but he had me convinced he was feeling better.”

“You know, Doc, I think he really was feeling better. Clay wouldn’t have wanted to be cleared for full duty if he didn’t think he was up to it. He wouldn’t risk our safety. Are you gonna keep him here or send him back to the hooch?” Trent smiled when he heard Clay mumble the word ‘hooch’.

“There’s really nothing we can do for him here that can’t be done at your place. Complete bed rest, plenty of fluids, Tylenol for the fever. Antibiotics aren’t effective in fighting a viral infection, so he’s just going to have to ride it out. I’ve given him something for the dizziness and nausea and it’s made him really drowsy. You guys up to taking him?” Dr. Stevens asked.

“Yeah, it’s not a problem. If need to, Sonny could toss him over his shoulder and carry him out.” Jason looked at Clay, who appeared to be asleep now. “You think someone should stay with him?”

“I think it might be a good idea… that way we could make sure he’s getting plenty of fluids and something to eat. I doubt he’s going to feel much like getting out of bed for the next couple of days. Some of the initial symptoms of this flu can be pretty severe.” Dr. Stevens handed Trent a packet of pills he’d taken from the cabinet. “These should help if he experiences any more dizziness, but he really shouldn’t take them unless he needs to.”

Trent slid them into his jacket pocket. “One of us can stay in the hooch with him. If we need to go out on an op, I’m sure we can find a place for him to sack out in TOC. And if we are gone for any length of time, we can sic Lisa on him.”

“Then I guess it’s all settled. I’ll want to see him back in here five or six days and we’ll see if he’s going to be ready for full duty. Even though the onset of this illness is sort of dramatic and very sudden, we’ve found that the worst of it is relatively short in duration.” Dr. Stevens heard a page and excused himself.

Trent stuck his hand in his jacket pocket and fingered the packet of pills Dr. Stevens had given him. There was something that didn’t seem quite right about this, and he stood there trying to figure out what it was until Dr. Stevens stuck his head back in.

“We got some wounded coming in and I’ve got to help Dr. Graham get ready. You guys okay to get Clay to your truck?” He turned to go, but Trent stopped him with a question.

“Doc, are you sure it’s just the flu? You should’ve seen him this morning. He wasn’t just a little lightheaded… I mean… he was seriously dizzy. And, you know, it’s not the first time he’s complained about feeling like that lately, either.”

Dr. Stevens chafed at being questioned about his diagnoses of Clay’s recent problems. “He got all the classic symptoms of the flu that’s been circulating.”

“But he’s been…” Trent tried.

Dr. Stevens bluntly cut in while Trent was still talking. “Look,” he said impatiently, “There’s nothing wrong with Spenser that a good rest won’t cure. Now, I’ve got to get going.”

“I know, but,” Before Trent could finish, Dr. Stevens disappeared, leaving the three SEALs standing there, more than a little frustrated. Trent couldn’t shake the mounting suspicion there was something more going on, although Dr. Stevens was right. Clay obviously had the flu.

Turning and watching Jason and Sonny tease Clay awake enough to get to the truck, he just couldn’t shake the feeling that something just seemed off.

***

It was good to feel good again.

Clay had assured Trent at least fifteen times this morning that he was fine. He’d ended up only having a mild case of the flu and had been released for working after missing one op and two days of drills. He’d taken it easy and gotten plenty of rest and had been fever-free, cough-free and dizzy-free for the last 5 days. Trent’s continuing skepticism was beginning to grate on his nerves as the morning wore on.

What was predicted to be the last major storm of the early monsoon season was about to vent itself on Thailand, and then it should be quiet until July. Thunder rumbled off-and-on in the darkened sky and the wind was hot and humid, but the rain hadn’t started yet. A light undercurrent of tension filled TOC as they waited for the inevitable op in the storm.

After checking that their kits were stocked, a short procedure review completed, and no ops, the guys sat around the briefing room while Jason and Blackburn tackled the latest round of paperwork in an office next door. Trent was engrossed in a manual, Brock and Ray dug out a chess board, while Sonny put his feet on the dilapidated couch and closed his eyes. Clay pulled a chair in front of the laptop in front of him and opened his email.

He coughed twice and knew he’d drawn more than Trent’s attention, but nothing was said. Not sure why Trent was acting so dubious about his well-being, Clay wondered what it would take to convince him he was alright. The more he thought about it, the more irritated it made him to know Trent felt he had to keep an eye on him.

“So, Peter Pan…” Sonny started.

The one good thing about being on light duty for so many days was that Clay had to put up with Sonny’s no-so-subtle attempts of worry. Now that he was feeling better, Sonny’s concern has turned to teasing. Clay felt great and decided no matter what, he wasn’t going to let Sonny goad him into a bickering match.

“What do you want, Sonny?” Clay replied with a roll of his eyes.

Trent shifted in his chair without looking up from the manual he was reading, and Ray and Brock interrupted their game to exchange little grins. They hadn’t heard a good Clay/Sonny repartee in a long time, not since Clay had sustained his concussion in the explosion over a month ago, then suffered his prolonged string of illnesses and minor injuries. They’d guessed Sonny was waiting until he was sure Clay was fully recovered before he started pestering him again. Maybe this was what they needed to lighten the mood.

“So… what’s it gonna be today?” Sonny asked, not moving from the couch.

Normally, Clay could banter with Sonny, but that was a topic that he didn’t want to touch. It was bad enough Trent didn’t seem to believe he was fine, now he had Sonny wondering out loud what misfortune might await him next. Without getting up, Clay spun the whole chair around and faced a startled looking Sonny, who genuinely had no idea how he managed to push the wrong button so quickly.

“I don’t believe you, Sonny. I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that I’m accident-prone, aren’t you? Well, I’m not. I’m just as careful as the next guy. I don’t take any more risks than…than… than anyone else for that matter. Just because… Just because I’ve had… I’ve just had a run of… of…” Clay looked to the others for the words he wanted because he wasn’t going to use the phrase ‘bad luck’. “Help me out here, someone… of… of… unfortunate incidents… doesn’t mean anything else is going to happen.”

Sonny’s mouth was hanging open in bewilderment. “Bam Bam… I…I…”

“You what, Sonny? You asked what it was gonna be…” Clay stood up and faced the rest of his teammates. “Why do you all think if something’s going to happen, it’s going to happen to me? I’m not the only one who gets hurt or sick around. You’ve all had your share of injuries and accidents… it’s not just me.”

Everyone was taken aback by his sudden outburst. Where this had all come from, Sonny wasn’t sure, but he wasn’t going to let Clay’s little tirade go unanswered. Feeling a tad defensive, he sat up straight and launched his own diatribe.

“Okay. So, I’ll admit we’ve all gotten banged up a time or two. It’s… it’s part of the job. But you must admit, GQ, you do seem to end up in the infirmary twice as much as the rest of us put together. Right, guys?” Sonny was looking for some support too. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say ‘somebody’ up there doesn’t like you. And if it’s all the same to you, I don’t wanna be standing next to you when you finally piss him off for the last time…”

“I disagree, Sonny.” Ray jumped into the conversation. “I think somebody up there does like Clay or… or…” His voice trailed off.

“Or what, Ray?” Clay stared at him in disbelief. “Go ahead and say it… Or I wouldn’t be standing here right now?”

Ray wished he’d kept his mouth shut.

Trent tried to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand. “Clay, no one meant anything… You’re just… you’re jumping to conclusions.”

“Oh, fine, Trent. Fine.” Clay said angrily. “Now you think I’m paranoid. Tell me, do you think I’m accident-prone? The things that happen to me could just as easily happen to you; you know.”

“That’s true,” Trent agreed, trying to play the diplomat. “They could.”

“But that’s the point, Tinkerbell,” Sonny quickly countered. “They don’t. They happen to you. Isn’t that right, Trent?”

Trent glared at Sonny. He didn’t want to be in the middle on this one. He just wanted everyone to simmer down.

Clay glared at Trent, waiting for his answer.

Trent shrugged his shoulders, feeling the whole day start to go down the drain. “Well, Clay, you do have to admit…”

“Great. That’s just great, Trent.” Clay threw his hands in the air in a show of resignation. “First you say I’m jumping to conclusions, then you tell me you agree with Sonny that I’m accident-prone. Well, tell you what. The next op we go out on, you guys make sure you’re not standing too close to me. I mean lightning might strike and Lord knows I wouldn’t want to be responsible for anyone else getting hurt.”

Clay stormed out of the room, almost knocking Jason in the shoulder on his way. “Sorry, Boss,” he mumbled as he headed for the hooch.

“What just happened in here?” Jason glanced at the guilty-looking faces at the table before finally settling on Sonny’s too-innocent expression.

Trent was the first to speak up. “Clay’s just being a little sensitive about all his injuries lately, Jason. I don’t think Sonny meant to start anything… Clay got carried away. Give him a bit to cool down, and he’ll see reason.”

Sonny stood up, feeling unjustly accused of provoking the whole incident. “I didn’t start it, Boss. Spenser was the one that started talking about being accident-prone. I never said a word until he jumped all over me.”

“Sonny…” Ray reminded him, “You were the one who asked him…”

“No, Ray.” Sonny huffed. “When I said, ‘what’s it gonna be today,’ I was talkin’ about lunch. The cafeteria is recycling the same shitty food, and I was gonna ask if he was going with the chicken or beef. That’s all. He’s the one that cut me off before I could finish the question.”

Jason looked at the team for an explanation, still not sure what he’d missed, wondering what chicken and beef had to do with anything.

Trent, Ray and Brock had all been expecting some witty… or not so witty… exchange of barbs between the two, Sonny had been talking about something as mundane as lunch, and Clay ended up walking out with the ridiculous idea that they all thought he was dangerous to be around.

Amazing how that worked.

“Sonny’s right, Boss.” Trent said. “He really didn’t start it. For some reason, Clay just got the wrong idea in his head.”

“Yeah, well, if you ask me,” Sonny replied sarcastically, “The only thing Bam Bam has is rocks in his head.”

“Well, Sonny,” Trent slid his chair back and stood up to go talk to Clay and smooth things over, “no one asked you.”

Chicken or beef?

It was going to be a very long day.

Trent hadn’t gone more than ten feet from the briefing room when Blackburn came around the corner jogging. Clay must have seen Blackburn coming because he jogged in the briefing room direction from their hooch. Everyone quickly piled around the briefing table, waiting for Blackburn to give them the details.

Lisa quickly pulled up two photos of men in their late twenties, early thirties. One was white with a brown head of curly hair and beard. The other was also white with a short, buzzed blonde hair. Both had blue eyes. “The brunette is Shaun Mason and the blonde is Nelson Howard. Both are Canadian. They were hiking on the border between India and Pakistan when this guy took them hostage.”

Lisa flipped the screen to another picture, this one was familiar to all the guys, “Hamza Kashmiri Shaikh. I know you are all familiar with him, but as a re-cap, he is the current leader of a terrorist cell in Pakistan. Last reports put him in Sindh province, but apparently, he has moved to Punjab.”

“Wait, how do we know that he has the hostages?” Jason asked.

Blackburn reached over and pulled up a video. It had the classic background with a terror-filled message, the two hostages on their knees in front of a camera with two terrorists covered completely with guns AK-47’s behind them. The video went on for a few minutes where the hostages recited the message that the US and Canada were to release imprisoned terrorists for their safe return. The video ended with Hamza Kashmiri Shaikh stepping into the screen and saying that the US and Canada had 48 hours to comply before one hostage is killed.

Somber silence followed the end of the video. Blackburn waited a moment and then spoke up, “We were called in since the Canadians do not have a team in the area and Kashmiri Shaikh requested the release of terrorists in US custody. We have tracked their movements to a farmhouse in the Punjab province.”

“What you guys thinking HAHO?” Jason turned to look at both Ray and Clay.

Ray nodded his head, “Best way to get the element of surprise.”

“We have any ISR yet?” Clay asked.

“We are working to get a drone of it in the next few hours.” Lisa replied. 

“Unfortunately, we are short on time. We can’t wait for ISR to get there and get us images. The Canadian government received the video 33 hours ago. We only have 15 before they kill the first hostage. Get jocked up and get to the plane. We have little time to waste.” Blackburn said.

Every member of Bravo gave a silent nod before getting up and leaving the briefing room. The have two Canadians to save.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And the diagnosis is...

All remaining thoughts of the heated exchange in the briefing room vanished as they focused on the op. Everyone was quiet as the C-17 traveled to their drop zone and then parachute into Pakistan. Soon the red light signaled for them to get in their gear and ready. Lining up so they could jump, everyone was ready for the green light. The red light turned to green and they were jumping. Six good chutes were counted and Bravo team maneuvered themselves into the Pakistani air space.

Everyone landed and quickly stowed their chutes, and gathered around the map that Jason had so they could make their way to the farmhouse. Jason quickly pointed in the right direction and they started to navigate them through the winding, hilly goat trails of the Pakistan country side. Soon they approached the valley where the farm house was located.

They looked down at the two-story house that housed the hostages with their NODs on, and saw there was only one entrance. There was a ladder on onside of the building that led up to a second-floor window, but they had no idea where the hostages were located.

“Havoc, do we have ISR?” Jason called over comms.

“That’s an affirmative. We have had ISR over the farmhouse for approximately four hours.” Blackburn replied.

“Any idea how many hostiles we’re looking at?” Jason asked.

“From what we have seen, at least six hostiles. No visual of the hostages.” Lisa replied.

“How many heat signatures?” Clay asked.

Lisa quickly flipped through the different ISR settings. “We are currently seeing nine heat signatures.”

“So, assuming two of the head signatures are hostages, we are looking at seven hostiles.” Ray stated for the team.

“Okay, we are going for a two-sided approach. Bravo 3 and 6, climb the ladder and come from above. The rest of us will breach down below.” Jason said, pointing to the locations for the breach. “You two wait for us to breach before climbing through that window.

“Why can’t we send in Cerb?” Sonny asked, thinking of their mission during their Afghanistan deployment.

“That was only one hostile, we have a possibility of nine. Don’t want to risk it.” Jason replied.

Bravo team jogged to get in position unseen by the hostiles that were holding the two Canadians hostage. Four of the team was ready and waiting at the bottom door while Sonny and Clay were at the bottom of the ladder waiting to climb as soon as they heard the breach.

Trent was quick to place the breaching charge on the door and then fall back into position. The explosion was controlled and soon Bravo was bursting through the door and started taking down the five tangos that were downstairs. Unfortunately, the fifth tango was the HVT, Hamza Kashmiri Shaikh. He started for the stairs and turned to face the four members of Bravo, showing a S-vest underneath his robe.

“S-VEST!” Jason yelled, just in time for everyone in Bravo to duck and cover. Everyone survived the blast with no injuries, but since he had detonated the S-vest at the base of the stairs, major structural damage was done to the farmhouse and the stairs were a pile of wood on the floor.

***

Upon hearing Bravo breach the downstairs, Clay quickly scaled the ladder to the second floor. He peaked in the window and saw two guards standing, facing the stairs and two hostages that were bound and gagged on the floor. He quickly took aim and fired a shot off at the first guard, who went down without a word. The second guard turned, pointed his gun at the hostages and got one bullet out before Clay could put a bullet between his eyes. Once sure that the two guards were down, Clay entered through the window and headed towards the stairs to secure that route while Sonny quickly followed Clay.

At that time, they felt the building rock from the detonation of the S-vest downstairs. Clay quickly looked down the stairs and knew they weren’t getting out that way. They were going to have to exit the way they came in. 

“Havoc, we have four tangos neutralized downstairs. HVT also detonated a S-vest.” Both Sonny and Clay could hear through their comms.

“Two tangos have met their maker upstairs. We also have jackpot.” Sonny informed Havoc and the team, letting them know of a successful mission.

Clay and Sonny moved to the two men laying on the floor. Clay flipped his NODs up and clicked on a helmet light and noticed Shaun Mason was bleeding heavily from a thigh wound. The one shot the tango got off made contact, but luckily not fatal.

Clay quickly grabbed some gauze and a tourniquet out of his small medical kit and started applying basic first aid.

“Bravo 1, one hostage was hit from a bullet in the thigh. Bravo 6 is applying a tourniquet. Bravo 4 will need to look at him.” Sonny informed Jason.

Clay was quick to secure the tourniquet above the wound to limit bleeding. He quickly looked at what kind of blood was running out of the wound. “Looks like he was lucky.” Clay informed Sonny. “It’s not bright red and gushing, so the artery wasn’t nicked, and it’s not dark and oozing, so the vein is still intact too.” He then leaned over and applied pressure to the wound, causing the man to grit his teeth, squeeze his eyes shut and groan.

“Well, we aren’t going down the stairs.” Sonny pointed out the obvious.

“We will have to go down the ladder.” Clay pointed out. At that point, the ceiling creaked and a support beam came crashing down. Sonny and Clay were quick to cover the rescued hostages with their own bodies, but luckily nothing fell on top of them.

They both looked up and towards the window, and Trent was looking in at the situation. In no time, he joined them within moments. He glanced at the hostage with the bleeding leg, and saw Clay had that under control. He glanced at the other hostage and noticed he was awake and aware. Both hostages had obviously been worked over, but at least one seemed to be mobile.

“Okay, Clay, get that bandage tied off, and Sonny can you carry him down the ladder. I’ll follow right behind you. Clay, bring up the rear and follow with the second hostage.” Trent stated, already getting a plan in place.

“Bravo 1, get a few hemostatic dressings ready for when our first hostage gets down. I want to make sure we stop the bleeding before we move him any further. Otherwise it looks like we have minor injuries.” Trent reported down.

“Copy Bravo 4. Get a move on it. That roof look really unstable and we need to get going to exfil before any of their friends show up.” Came the reply from Jason.

Trent helped Sonny get the first hostage on his shoulder in a fireman carry and helped him get on the ladder with Brock holding the bottom of the ladder to steady it. He watched Sonny carefully on the way down, waiting for him to step on the ground before he followed down the later. Clay was standing next to the window waiting to help the second hostage down, when he heard something snap overhead and looked up to see a wooden ceiling support beam start to fall and head straight for him and the second hostage. He yelled for the hostage to duck while pushing the hostage down and out of the way. They ended up in sprawled in a heap on the floor as the beam crashed down right next to them.

Both Clay and the hostage sat up quickly, looked at each other, a little shocked at how close it had come. Without a word, they scrambled to their feet and looked out the window to see if Trent made it down. Clay motioned that the hostage was going first, seeing as Trent was treating his friend, while Sonny was now holding the ladder steady for their descent.

Clay noticed that Nelson’s forehead was bleeding and made sure he was alright, then pushed him towards the window to encourage him to go down. His medical kit that he tried to hook to his ruck before his descent slipped out of Clay’s hand, and he bent to pick it up, and swiftly clipped it back on. Nelson swiftly made his way down the ladder and stood aside, wiping blood off his forehead before Brock escorted him over to his friend.

Trent looked up at the window and wondered why Clay wasn’t on his way down yet, then quickly returned his attention to Shaun Mason. He looked up again to see Clay at the window, one leg out ready to step on the top rung of the ladder.

Trent reached for another dressing, when a feeling resembling sudden panic over took him. Something wasn’t right about the way Clay was moving.

He glanced up one more time and saw Clay’s foot miss the rung.

***

“Chris! Welcome back. How was the trip Stateside?” Dr. Steven greeted the well-rested doctor as he joined Dr. Bennett and Carol at the nurses’ station. Dr. Stevens felt good himself after finally having a full night’s sleep.

“It was really good, Mike. Really good. The week went by too quickly though.” Dr. Bennett explained.

Dr. Stevens poured himself a cup of coffee and looked up at Carol. She was being awfully quiet. “Morning, Carol.” He took a sip from the cup. “Is… something wrong?”

He could see the concern in her eyes, and something else. Doubt, questions. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it felt very disconcerting.

“Petty Officer Clay Spenser was brought in yesterday afternoon.” Dr. Bennett explained. “I was just on my way up to get an update on his condition.”

“Spenser has certainly spent more than his share of time here lately. What is it this time?” Dr. Stevenson almost had a smile half-formed, but a cold look from Nurse Carol stifled it.

“He has a fractured clavicle, some contused ribs and perhaps a minor concussion.” Dr. Bennett shook his head in amazement. “You know, I’ve never met a man as lucky as this guy. The fall he took from that second story window could have killed him.”

Dr. Stevens had a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach as he set the coffee cup down on the counter. “What happened?”

Carol raised her eyes from the chart she had open on the computer screen, but wasn’t working on. “He fell from a second story window. The story is that his foot slipped off the rung of the ladder.” There was something in her voice that indicated that may not have been the entire story.

“You make that sound like there was something else.” Dr. Stevens wanted to know what it was that was making him so uncomfortable.

“Well, Dr. Stevens, we’re not sure yet. Petty Officer Spenser was pretty groggy when they brought him in yesterday, and he wasn’t able to tell us exactly what happened. Trent told me that Clay has been experiencing a number of dizzy spells over the last several weeks, and he thinks it happened again, and that’s what caused him to fall.”

Dr. Stevens was beginning to understand what Carol’s problem was, and took on a defensive posture. “It’s true, but each time it’s been associated with something else… The ear infection, smoke inhalation and the flu. It’s a classic symptom with all those maladies. I had no reason to suspect it was anything else.”

“Wait a minute, Mike…” Chris said calmly, “No one’s saying that you missed anything. Trent said that just before this happened, Clay pushed their hostage out of the way of a broken beam and it landed right next to them. It could be possible that Clay was hit by the beam and the hostage didn’t realize it when he relayed the story to the medic.”

“But… Trent isn’t buying that, is he?” Dr. Stevens asked.

“No. No, he isn’t.” Dr. Bennett scratched the back of his head as he chose his words carefully. “He seems to think there’s another problem that all these other things have masked, and I think he may be right. Trent said he tried to talk to you about it, but you were in too much of a hurry to listen to him.”

Dr. Stevens swallowed hard, knowing that was true. He’d been so sure of himself. The implication that Clay could have died because he hadn’t been willing to keep an open mind to someone else’s concerns was staggering.

Dr. Bennett could see Dr. Stevens was struggling to maintain his outward composure. “Like I said, I was just on my way up to see him. I’ve been looking over some of the medical reports, and I think I might have an idea what’s wrong with him. You want to come along?”

Undecided for a moment, Dr. Stevens nodded his head. If he’d made a mistake, he would have to face the music… and Clay Spenser… sooner or later.

Clay Spenser was asleep when they entered the room. Trent had come directly to the hospital after getting done with the debrief, and was standing by the window watching the rain come down outside. Each of Bravo team would take a shift until Clay was released to come back to the hooch.

Dr. Stevens couldn’t quite read the look Trent gave him before he turned to look out the window again.

“Clay… Petty Officer Spenser, I’m sorry to wake you, but I’d like to talk to you.” Dr. Bennett said quietly.

Clay shifted and moaned. They’d wrapped him with a Figure-8 brace to hold his shoulder in place until the swelling went down and the pain subsided. Fractured clavicles were painful, but recovery was usually complete and quick. There had been no nerve or blood vessel damage, just a lot of bruising to his shoulder and ribs from the impact with the round. He attempted to get a hand down and that had helped to break his fall a bit.

A lucky man indeed. Somebody ‘up there’ liked him.

He blinked his eyes open and gave a half loopy grin to the doctors standing there. “Hi Dr. Stevenson,” He said sleepily, “I’m back.”

“I see that, Spenser,” Dr. Stevens forced some humor into his voice. “Can’t seem to stay away from our lovely accommodations, can you?”

“I’d like to ask you some questions, Petty Officer Spenser, and then I’d like to see if we can sit you up a bit so I can look at you,” Dr. Bennett requested. “There’s something I want to check. It’ll take a minute and then we’ll let you rest again.”

“Sure, Doc.” Clay looked at them tiredly.

“Do you remember what happened yesterday? From the beginning?” Dr. Bennett asked.

Trent turned around and moved closer to the bed, wanting to hear what he had to say.

Figuring what happened in the briefing room was private, Clay skipped over the details. He could recount everything that happened from the time Blackburn notified them of the op until he got to the infirmary. Clay’s story confirmed what Trent suspected. When he dove on the hostage, he had been shaken up, and then when he’d bent over to pick up the dropped medical kit, he’d suffered another severe dizzy spell. The information about the medical kit was new to Trent, but it made sense.

“Why didn’t you radio for help, Clay?” Trent asked quietly. “You should have never tried to come down the ladder by yourself.”

Clay didn’t answer him, but by the look in his eyes, Trent could tell it had something to do with the conversation in the briefing room before the op. He thought maybe he and Sonny had some apologizing to do, especially given that if they Clay hadn’t been there, the hostage or one of them could have been seriously injured by the broken beam.

The head of the bed had already been raised slightly and Dr. Bennett meant to raise it some more, but accidentally went the wrong way, stopping as soon as he saw Clay blanch and start to roll to his side, startling them all. He reversed the process until it was back in its original position.

“I’m sorry, Petty Officer. Is that any better?” asked Dr. Bennett.

“Ye-yeah. Got dizzy. Just… just don’t do that again… without warning me.” Clay mumbled.

Trent went into the bathroom and brought out a cool, wet washcloth and laid it across Clay’s forehead. Clay pulled it down so it covered his eyes and fought against the lingering nausea.

Dr. Stevens looked at Dr. Bennett with confusion. “A symptom of the concussion?”

“It could be, but I don’t think so. Petty Officer Spenser is only exhibiting a few signs and symptoms that would indicate a concussion. Some of the more usual ones are missing. There’s no confusion or memory loss, his attention, concentration and speech seem normal. There was no loss of consciousness at the time of injury. He doesn’t report any symptoms of a headache or pressure in the head. He was also able to tell them where he was injured. About the only symptoms he is reporting is the dizziness and nausea. As I understand it, those two things have been the common denominator all along.” Dr. Bennett explained.

“What is it, then?” Dr. Stevens and Trent asked simultaneously. Clay would have asked too, but he was still dealing with the churning in his stomach.

“There’s something I noticed when I checked his pupil reaction when they brought him in yesterday. As soon as Clay’s feeling a little better, I’ll show you. He’s got an unusual involuntary eye movement, nystagmus, that could be indicative of a condition known as Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo.”

Clay didn’t open his eyes or move, but he didn’t like the sound of that. “Sounds serious. Can you translate that for me?”

“You’ll need to be examined by an ENT specialist before we know for sure. If my suspicion is correct, it’s not as serious as it sounds. The commonly used phrase is ‘ear rocks.’ You see,” Dr. Bennett continued to explain, “Within the inner ear, there are tiny crystals attached to nerve endings in the semicircular canals. Sometimes these crystals come loose, that can be caused by concussions incurred periodically, or by repeated ear infection. They usually float around, upsetting the balance nerves, which is what causes the extreme vertigo. Generally putting the ear in a downward position will bring on the symptoms, although sometimes any sudden head motion or change in position, like getting up quickly, will do the same thing.”

“This doesn’t sound like a good thing for a SEAL to have, Doc,” Trent said worriedly. “Is it a permanent condition, or is there a cure?”

“No, it’s not permanent, Trent, and if it’s confirmed to be the cause, treatment is usually just time and rest. Medication like the ones used for motion sickness is prescribed to control the symptoms when needed. The crystals eventually gravitate away from the balance nerves and the problem goes away.”

They all heard Clay sigh in relief.

“How long does it take before it disappears completely?” Dr. Stevens asked curiously.

“It all depends… but since he’ll be on desk duty with his clavicle for a while, I’d guess that by the time he’s recovered from that, the ear problem should be cleared up as well.” Dr. Bennett lifted the washcloth off Clay’s eyes, and saw his fears had been relieved at the news. “Are you feeling any better now?”

“Yeah… It’s weird. The dizziness is bad, but… except for the one time in the hooch, it’s never lasted very long. Maybe that’s because I stood up so fast and then bent down right away to grab his shoes. That made me feel real nauseous and shaky for a long time.” Clay handed the washcloth to Trent with quiet thanks. “I’m good now. Just kind tired and sore, and my shoulder hurts.”

“Gentlemen, I think maybe Petty Officer Spenser could use some rest now.” Dr. Bennett looked at him and added, “I’ll call Dr. Johnson and arrange for a consultation just as soon as possible. I don’t think you’ll be in here for more than 24 hours, so I’ll see if he can come by and talk to you before you’re discharged.”

“Thanks, Dr. Bennett.” Clay frowned at Trent. “At least we know there’s a reason for all this stuff that’s happened to me lately… Some people almost had me convinced I was just plain accident-prone. Which I’m not.”

Trent winced a little at the well-aimed shot, but figured he had it coming. He also figured this wasn’t going to be the end of it, either. He’d hear about it again. And again, And probably again. In the end, though, he knew it would be Sonny who was going to pay big time for his remarks.

Trent wanted to be around for sure when that happened.

***

“Ear rocks, huh?”

“That’s what they’re called, Sonny.”

“And you’re sure you’re gonna be okay?”

Clay sighed as he grabbed a towel and dried off his face. “Sonny, I’ve told you ten times already, the doctor said I’m fine now. I can hang upside down if I want, and not get dizzy anymore.”

“Well, I still don’t know why you’re talkin’ about Dr. Stevens not listening. You two aren’t any better than he is.” Came Sonny’s reply.

“What are you talking about, Sonny?” Trent asked, taking the bait for a change.

“You know,” Sonny said matter-of-factly, “If you had listened to me, I could have saved you a lot of time and trouble. I knew what was wrong with Blondezilla all along.”

Trent looked at clay, who returned the look and shrugged.

Sonny zipped up his duffel and slid it under his bunk. “I’m going to bed now. You two should do the same.”

“Wait a minute, Sonny.” Clay protested. “What do you mean, you knew what was wrong with me all along?”

Sonny pulled back the covers of his bed, got in and rolled so his back was facing Trent and Clay. With his back to them, they couldn’t see the smile that almost stretched from ear to ear. He loved it when he got someone good. “Night guys.”

Trent shook his head, and Clay mumbled something about how he hadn’t missed Sonny while he was stuck on desk duty. Clay was straightening his clothes out at the foot of his bed when Trent got into his bunk and pulled his blanket up to his shoulder.

“SONNY!”

Trent looked over and started laughing.

Clay had pulled his blanket down to get into bed. A small pile of rocks lay on his pillow, and he was glaring at Sonny.

Sonny sat up and rested on his elbows. “What? Oh, those. Thought maybe you wondered where they went. I think they must’ve fallen out that morning when you keeled over. I found ‘em under your bunk when I was searching for a sock. Saved ‘em for you.”

“Sonny.” Clay growled.

“Poster Boy… I’ve always said you had rocks in your head, and now we know it’s true. We’ve got medical proof, right Trent?”

“I’ll give your rocks…” Clay picked up a handful.

Jason’s voice carried across the hooch where everyone else was watching the drama unfold with smiles on their faces. “One more word out of either of you tonight, and you’ll both be running hills for the remainder of deployment.”

Clay glared at Sonny for another few second, then sat down on the edge of his bunk, holding the rocks in his hands. Trent watched curiously when a grin began to form on Clay’s face and he could see the plan, whatever it was, slowly start to take shape.

“Clay?”

Putting the rocks neatly on the floor just under his bunk, Clay looked up at Trent, the grin still in place.

“Yeah?”

“What are you gonna do with those?”

Clay’s eyes flicked across the aisle to Sonny’s bunk and back to Trent. “Nothing.”

“Clay…”

“I’m just moving them out of the way. I’d hate to get up in the middle of the night and trip and fall over them. Especially knowing how the team thinks I’m so accident-prone and all.”

Trent swallowed hard. He’d hoped Clay had forgotten about the discussion that day. Apparently not.

“What are you gonna do?”

“Night Trent.”

“Clay?”

Trent laid his head back on his pillow and sighed. A Sonny prank was bad enough. But a Clay one…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AZGirl wins the prize for correct diagnosis!
> 
> Also, thank you for Lauren2381 for all the help being my beta and getting this out so fast to everyone!


End file.
